


Gently Into That Good Night

by Moma2313



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Battle of Scarif, Canon Compliant, Cassian is an emotional bean, F/M, but also gives you closure?? maybe? hopefully?, this is pretty sad stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 08:36:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9064396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moma2313/pseuds/Moma2313
Summary: They don’t speak, it’s quiet as death begins to draw its cloak over Cassian. He leans on Jyn, breathing and hurting against the cold elevator walls. Cassian looks over at her and thinks that dying next to Jyn is the only way he wants to die.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Rogue One really blew me away, and the the whole scene leading up to Jyn+Cassian's death was so heartbreaking and so beautifully done. I wanted to write this mostly because I loved Cassian and wanted to get inside his head. I hope I've done him justice. Please enjoy!

He didn’t realise what he knew until he was lying broken on cold metal bars. Cassian Andor was going to die on Scarif. He supposes he had known that for quite some time, but had been so determined to complete his mission that there was no extra space in his head, not even for his death. It was a sinking feeling, but not a wholly uncomfortable one. Cassian Andor had been seeing death since he was six years old, and had been chased by it ever since. It's been so many years, he was no longer afraid of it. Now that is was here though, it felt different. Less like a sentence cut off half way through, more like a final chance. Jyn Erso was a death sentence, but she was also hope, a chance to die righteously. He wondered how many of his soldiers had died mid-sentence, or if, like Cassian, they were given slower deaths. The pain of the bullet wound made it hard for him to think clearly. He barely felt the platform he was bleeding out on, and where was the white man with the cape? Something was keeping him from letting go, from making peace with his death, but it was all so unclear. His mind was foggy, but he pushed and pushed until...oh, of course. With a jolt he realised that if he let himself bleed out, then he would die in vain. Jyn Erso was still up there. Likely with a man who meant to kill her. He thought of K2-SO, of Chirrut and Baze, and Bodhi: deep in his gut he knew they were not alive, and unless he got up, none of it would matter. 

Standing up was the hardest thing Cassian had ever done, but he forced himself to walk over to the metal ladder. Slowly he worked his way through burning pain and began to climb the metal rungs. He moved slowly, had to if he wanted to make it all the way up. Breath by breath, he forced his way up the metal ladder. Ignoring the screaming pain where he had been shot, ignoring every nerve in his body that was telling him to give up. He could think of nothing but putting each hand on the next rung of moving each foot above the next. By the time he made it to the top he was half-delusional. On the platform, the tropical wind cleared his mind. Now he could see Jyn. Alive, with her eyes fiery and her stance stoic. Across from her he could see Krennic, he remembers the name of the man in white now, the man who had a gun pointed directly at Jyn’s head. Cassian barely had time to let anger and fear course through him. He doesn’t even remember raising his hand to take the shot, he only realises what he’s doing until after he’s pulled the trigger. He has time to briefly pray that he had the sense to aim before Krennic collapses quickly and silently, a mid-sentence death (and unlike the soldiers this was deserved). Jyn only looks at him briefly before racing to the console panel. Despite the wind in his ears he hears the automated voice “transmission accepted”. He almost collapses against the metal structure he’s propped himself against. The pain in his side lessens significantly, or maybe he just doesn’t care about it anymore. 

The Death Star plans have been transmitted, ensuring hope against all odds. The planet killer looms above them, but it hardly matters, he doubts anything could prevent him from dying at this point. He doesn’t see Jyn walk over but he feels her arms wrap around him, holding him up. He looks into her eyes and knows that she knows: they will die on Scarif. He asks her if she thinks anybody’s listening. She tells him yes, tells him that someone’s out there, and that is enough for him. Together they move to the elevator and she brings him inside. They don’t speak, it’s quiet as death begins to draw its cloak over Cassian. He leans on Jyn, breathing and hurting against the cold elevator walls. Cassian looks over at her and thinks that dying next to Jyn, is the only way he wants to die. He’s already followed her to the end of the world, sacrificed his life for the only chance the rebellion has against the Empire, all because Jyn was willing to. In the wake of her father’s death Jyn had found purpose and through her Cassian had found the sense of righteousness that had once guided his every action. This is what made it worth it, he would die a million times so he could die believing in himself the way he used to believe in the rebellion. He still believed that the rebellion was they only chance to defeat the Empire, but his hands had become so stained with red that his cause was more of a justification than a purpose. Jyn hasn’t washed his hands clean, but she’s given him a way to die content, something he never thought possible. He sees Scarif rush past him as they make their way down, he meets her eyes, lets his breathing match hers. He can’t begin to understand the constellation behind her eyes, but they soothe him nonetheless. The elevator doors open, and he lets Jyn manoeuvre them out. The bullet wound pulses with a pain that has started to spread throughout his body. The world narrows itself to the feeling of his legs moving and the feeling of Jyn pressed against him. 

She brings him to the edge of the beach. They drop down together in the soft sand, staring at the tropical ocean before them, and then at each other. She looks into his eyes, and softly tells him, “I’m glad you came.” He lets her words wash over him, and smiles. He knows that he has been forgiven by her. He knows he means something to her, something neither of them will ever truly comprehend. He knows it wont be long until the death star obliterates them. She takes his hand in hers, rough and comforting, and brings herself into him. The closeness of someone so beautiful, brings warmth to his dying body. Time begins to drag on, and Cassian begins to wonder if he will die before the Death Star destroys this planet. It’s difficult to speak, but he manages to whisper, “Your father would be proud,” he wants to comfort her, wants her to die with peace. A tremor shakes the beach and a rumbling sound ceases all other noise, but he knows she’s heard him. Jyn tightens her grip on him, and he does his best to hold her. The world around them begins to vibrate, but they breathe at the same steady pace. There is no more time for words, so they just hold each other tightly, letting each other feel the warmth of closeness, of intimacy. In their final moments, they understand each other. Everything grows brighter and brighter, a white light races to overtake them. Cassian had no more thoughts, feels no more pain, only the feeling of Jyn in his arms. As a purifying light consumes them, Cassian dies in peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you liked this fic/or have any feedback! I would be eternally grateful.


End file.
